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Maher has recorded a message that will be played, via phone to more than 100,000 individuals in Wisconsin in advance of his Oct. 13 performance in Madison. PETA has been attacking the University of Wisconsin–Madison for animal testing since last year.

“Many things in life are funny, but cruelty to animals isn’t one of them,” Maher says in the message. “I want to make sure that you know about the terrible things done to cats right here at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.”

“It strikes me that it’s not the cats who need their heads examined, because being mean to animals isn’t just stupid — it’s wrong, especially when there are better options that are actually relevant to humans, as there are in this case,” Maher says in the message, after listing in graphic detail examples of animal testing.

In response, the University issued a statement saying PETA “has tried mightily to stop important work on hearing at UW-Madison by making repeated, unsubstantiated and false claims about the work and its conduct.”

“In the latest effort to bring attention to their cause — the ultimate goal being to halt all research everywhere involving animal models — robocalls from comedian Bill Maher, an active supporter and frequent spokesperson for PETA, continue to distort the facts as established by no fewer than three federal investigations. Given that there is no factual basis for their claims, the only way to keep attention on an issue is to engage celebrities to promote their message or engage in stunts that add no substance to their claims and do little to inform honest debate.”